VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (VDOT)
I-66 INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY EXPRESS LANES
MarCom Awards 2018 Gold Winner for VDOT I-66 Inside the Beltway Express Lanes: Marketing and Communications Campaign
Best Road, Bridge, or Tunnel Project - 2023 P3 Award
Honors
Websites
I-66 INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY EXPRESS LANES
When the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) implemented the nation’s first variable peak-hour tolling system for I-66 Inside the Beltway, extending from the I-495 Beltway to Washington, D.C., the agency recognized it would be asking travelers along this busy corridor to adapt to a brand-new set of rules. To ignite commuter awareness of VDOT’s new toll pass requirements, Sensis was asked to develop a strategic, high-visibility communications strategy to educate travelers and bring widespread public understanding of the upcoming change.
Later, when VDOT needed to raise public awareness about the reliable and faster trips new Express Lanes opening along the I-66 corridor would bring to travelers, as well as other transportation improvements and safety enhancements, VDOT and its partners again turned to Sensis to develop and implement a comprehensive outreach campaign that would explain the benefits and requirements of the new Express Lanes.
Challenge
Clearing the hurdle of introducing a whole new way of traveling along the busy I-66 corridor—including complex new lane usage rules and requirements—as well as educating the public about the positive impact of the new Express Lanes meant that the Sensis team had to create two distinct campaigns with overlapping reach to a broad and diverse public audience. And, the tactics had to ensure that the benefits of the new Express Lanes as well as how to use them gained widespread coverage with high density saturation.
I-66 INSIDE THE BELTWAY: TOLLING EDUCATION CAMPAIGN
With a pre-Express Lanes E-ZPass usage rate of only 55%, VDOT needed robust public awareness strategies that broadly and quickly relayed the new pass requirements to roadway users. Focusing on VDOT’s goals to inform drivers about the Express Lanes’ new usage rules and E-ZPass requirements, the Sensis team designed and implemented a multi-faceted communication and outreach plan to drive an increase in E-ZPass usage.
The team’s curated, multipronged tactics amplified the positive impacts of the plan components, including a widespread educational campaign with clear materials, consistent messaging, and a user-friendly website; a high-intensity public outreach program which presented VDOT’s new rules and policies at venues attended by roughly 300,000 potentially impacted commuters; and a deep-saturation advertising approach for creative print, broadcast, and social media that offered tri-lingual materials, adding a layer of inclusivity to our outreach. Our Tolling Education Campaign also garnered an earned-media nod from the Washington Post and WTOP radio, sparking additional user interest and knowledge.
TRANSFORM 66 OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY: CHANGING THE WAY YOU MOVE CAMPAIGN
To ensure the benefits of the new Express lanes were seen, heard, and understood, the team created a newly-branded strategic campaign with the right mix of communication channels to use with the new “Changing the Way You Move” tagline and identity. Using a hybrid mix of media—social media, newspapers, radio, innovative digital advertising platforms, and moving through local streets via bus wraps—gave the I-66 Outside the Beltway message real legs and helped saturate impacted audiences with positive messaging about the Express Lanes bringing new travel choices, road improvements, and congestion relief across a 22.5-mile stretch of I-66.
Sensis continued their work on the I-66 corridor with the “Changing the Way You Move” campaign for I-66 Outside the Beltway with a push to show that the new Express Lanes would transform an often-maligned highway corridor into an efficient, positive travel experience.
CAMPAIGN RESULTS
The Sensis team’s application of educational marketing collateral for the Inside and Outside the Beltway campaigns succeeded in providing consistent, accessible messaging and reinforcing information comprehension and retention. Over the course of three months, the team’s public outreach strategy for the I-66 Inside the Beltway Tolling Education Campaign brought VDOT’s new Express Lanes rules and requirements directly to more than 300,000 impacted commuters. E-ZPass usage surged to 86% on Toll Day 1, surpassing VDOT’s own goal of 75%, and media advertising earned 34 million impressions.
A combination of print ads, radio spots, Waze advertising, Connected TV, and geo-fencing campaigns earned millions of media impressions for the Outside the Beltway “Changing the Way You Move” campaign, allowing impacted travelers to learn about the delivery of $3.7 billion of transportation improvements in the I-66 corridor. The Express Lanes opened ahead of schedule in November 2022.